


A Battle for Blood and Gold

by Oilux



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood, F/F, Lions, Original work - Freeform, Romance, Violence, battles, coliseum battles, more tags to be added later, roman gladiators
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-29
Updated: 2018-08-01
Packaged: 2019-01-06 22:55:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12220632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oilux/pseuds/Oilux
Summary: Taken into slavery, Vera had been trying to do everything she could to just live. The guards gave her a choice, fight to win her freedom, or be a slave the rest of her days. She chose to fight, but staring up at the Queen who ruled her thoughts, she isn't sure she'll only win the battles. Would she win the Queen's heart as well?





	1. Roaming the Desert

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome, to the very first chapter of my original novel. Please, relax, take a seat, and enjoy the ride.

The sand was hot underneath her feet as she walked, her steps as unsteady as everyone else’s. The burning sand underneath her feet was slippery, like water as they were forced forward. She couldn’t even say that they were walking in a straight line anymore, the journey was lost on her as they all walked together.

Another person collapsed, almost bringing down the woman he was chained to. The crack of whips traveled through the air, and his body was dragged along with the rest of the new slaves. The guards didn't move off of their horses, letting them carry the weight of their dead companion. 

Vera stared blankly ahead, eyes only taking in enough detail to keep her feet moving forward. At one point, the sand would have felt soft, but now her feet were so rough and calloused that she couldn’t feel the texture anymore. Right foot, left foot, again and again. She ignored the added weight that came with another body falling. She was in the middle of the group of slaves, only able to feel the hot breath of the man behind her on the back of her neck and the sun on her shoulders. 

“Stop!”

They didn’t have to be told twice. Some of them fell to their knees in relief at the break, most would have cried if they had spare tears. Vera remained standing, curly black hair shaking as she tossed her head back to the sun. She felt no different doing that then when she would face the ground. Nothing brought relief.

A guard finally dismounted from his horse; his breastplate reflected the light and shone in her eyes . She hardly ever saw the sandals of the guards touch the ground while she had been chained up. She was fascinated with the way his skirt moved against his legs, the motion capturing her attention more than the sand beneath her feet ever had.

He moved, cutting away the bonds keeping the dead slaves tethered to the rest. Vera continued to watch the slight swish of the skirt as he walked, not even bothering to glance at her despite how she was almost eye level with him. The guards never looked at them though. It was degrading to look down at slaves, wasn’t it?

She was pushed forward, propelled into the person before her when the person behind her collapsed. Vera landed hard with her elbow digging into the back of whoever she landed on. The guard stalked forward, grabbing her by her hair and forcing her back on the sand, cutting away the other person from her.

“We’re losing too many this way. I told you traveling through the desert was not a good idea.” The leader propelled his horse forward, staring down at the mess of slaves that had started out much stronger than they were now. The man took better care of his horse than the slaves he was transporting.

“It’s the quickest way to Rome.” The guard behind Vera didn’t even look at him, but he did haul her to her feet when she was lagging.

“If we lose half the batch before we get there, we won’t make a profit.” The leader rolled his eyes. “Look at that one, dead on her feet. She won’t be any good when we get there.”

He gestured at Vera, the movement rough and accusing. If she wasn’t so dead to the world, she would have been offended that he seemed to think it was her fault she was so exhausted. Everyone else was ignoring them, glad the leader wasn’t singling them out for them.

“What do you suggest then? We’re still a day’s walk away from the sea to get a boat. The quicker we get there, the better.” The one pulled away from Vera, and she finally fell to her knees in exhaustion. She hadn’t realized how much she was leaning on the guard holding her up until he let her go.

“Ask the slave, then? What do you suggest, girl? What would be the best way to make sure you won’t die.” The leader’s tone was taunting, making other guards chuckle and dismiss her on sight. She pressed her cheek against the golden sand, her own skin contrasting so well with it.

“Water.” She croaked out, making the guards laugh even more. It sounded like she was begging, and she had to blink her dry eyes to get the sand out. “Oh, hear how she begs. Well, we don’t have any water to spare.” The leader laughed, and Vera was starting to remember more about him than she cared to know. She was sure his name was Maevius.

“Rest. Wa-water and rest.” Vera choked out, almost inhaling the sand. She got some strange looks, but then they were silent, and she realized they still expected her to keep talking.

“Best way. Rest, water. Travel slower.” Vera’s voice was almost nonexistent at the end, a small little croak that made her last word unheard. She received stares from the guards, some peeved that she had the audacity to ask for so much. She didn’t feel as though she was asking for the world, but it seemed like she was with how the glared at her.

They paused though, looking down at her and no one saying anything at all. Then Maevius started laughing, a hearty sound that made him double over on his horse. The other men awkwardly joined in on the laughter a moment later. They weren’t sure why they were laughing, but they wouldn’t sit silently while their leader laughed.

“See, she gets the right idea. We won’t even make it to the sea before night falls.” Naevius laughed again before getting off his horse. “There’s no point in having them drop like flies when they pay us by the head.”

The rest of the slaves around her collapsed, all in a huge heap with Vera still in the center. The guard who had once been near her walked away, irritated that she got her way and they wouldn’t keep traveling. As she didn’t have the next step to focus on, she could feel the heat of the sun burning into her skin and the sand grinding against her skin.

“Thank you.” It was whispered silently amongst the slaves, washing over her like a wave that was almost better than a cool breeze. The guards could have killed her when she spoke out, but instead they lived and her suggestion was taken. For the first time since the rope went around her wrists, Vera let herself relax.

* * *

The Red Sea was more beautiful than anything she had ever seen before. Nothing compared to the brightness that came with the sun setting over the Red Sea. The yellow sun seemed to hit the water at just the right angle to make the water shimmer as though the stars were there.

“I can’t do this, I can’t,I can’t, I can't, I can't...” The woman next to Vera muttered, clutching to her arm. The hot touch of the other wasn’t welcomed, but Vera didn’t push her away. The woman was old enough to be her mother, Vera didn’t have the heart to be cruel when they only had each other.

“You must. They will show no mercy.” Vera whispered back. The other slaves were restless near her, each of them wondering different things. They had to cross the Red Sea, but none of them were certain of what waited for them across the shore.

“Ask where we’re going.” Another voice whispered behind her.

Ever since she had talked to Maevius and came out alive, they had looked to her to ask what was going to happen to them. Vera had already pushed her luck, she didn’t want to talk to him again and find out his patience had run thin with her.

“That’s a good way to end up dead. This is the Red Sea, it will either lead to Egypt or it will lead to Rome.” The two more popular places for slaves. Vera pushed back the thoughts of rumors she had heard of the slaves of Egypt who were crushed between buildings; of slaves in Rome who were fed to lions.

Before anyone could speak further, even in hushed whispers that the guards couldn’t hear, they were interrupted and being examined. Vera held still, not sure what was happening but not about to ask. She simply kept her gaze on the ground and did her best to stay safe.

“Must make sure that you’re fit for sailing, don’t we?” One of the guards took her chin in his hands, turning her head from side to side and fingers traveling obscenely over her lips. Vera bit on her tongue so she wouldn’t bite his fingers off.

“You’re just a sight, they’re going to love you, you’ll be our best seller.” He pulled back to go and examine the woman next to her, his fingers just as wandering on her as they was with Vera.

She stared at the sea that made the stars seem dull in comparison. She had always wanted to see the ocean when she was little, but now staring ahead at it, it wasn’t what she had imagined. It was just as beautiful as she had always hoped, but there was something missing, someone missing.

She glanced to her left, for a moment her vision blurry enough to trick her eyes into thinking they say her mother standing next to her, back hunched with age and wrinkles around her eyes. Her mother had been a kind woman who had been taken from the world much too young, much too young for Vera's taste. Any time would have been too early for the loss of a mother though.

“When I was younger, I told my mom it was my dream to see the ocean.” She mumbled, more to herself than to the woman who wasn’t her mother. Vera blinked through her tears, wishing her vision would blurry enough for the woman to look like her mother once more.

“That’s a nice dream.” The ropes changed into chains. It floated near them, only a couple feet away in the water.

“I wish I knew how to swim.” Vera whispered. “I wish my mom was here.”

The guards grabbed them, hauling them on the ship one by one, and Vera realized that even weak and without weapons, they still outnumbered the guards enough to cause a riot. She glanced around at her fellow slaves, seeing the fatigue in their bones and the bags underneath their eyes, and she realized that they wouldn’t be able to make it.

They were shoved on the ship, below deck before any could think about staying on board, and the guards already on deck prepping the ship. Vera glanced around, seeing everyone pressed so close together on the small ship that there wasn’t an option for turning on their sides or relaxing. It was packed, it was hot, it was almost as bad as being forced to walk through the desert. They were all silent, and Vera slowly moved to rest her head on the woman next to her, pretending that the comfort she was getting was from her mother, and not from a stranger that she didn’t know the name of.

The rocking of the ship tried to lull her into sleep, but she refused, staying awake to stare up at the rotting wood of the deck. The past was the past, but that didn’t make the present any easier.


	2. Fight!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A much longer chapter! Things finally getting along here, aren't they? Sorry for the delay by the way, thank you for the support!

“Life’s always gonna be hard for us, Vera. That’s just life.” Her mother breathed deeply, as though every time she breathed she was trying to inhale a scent that just wasn’t there. Vera sat down at her mother’s feet while her mother ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair and started to braid it.

“Why us though?” Vera asked, leaning on her mother’s legs. She stared ahead at the fire, the dancing flames acting as her entertainment. “Why can’t we have it easy like everyone else?”

“We just don’t.” Her mother didn’t have an explanation, that or she just didn’t want to share.

Vera didn’t want to press either. The two fell into silence, only the crackling of flames truly breaking over them and creating any sound.

“I miss dad.” Vera mumbled, sitting as quietly as she could, only moving when the fire was about to die. “Do you think he misses us?”

“I know he does. I know he’d be here in a heartbeat if he could.” Her mother, Mosi sighed. “There might be a day when I have to leave you.”

“Don’t say that.” Vera frowned down at the fire as though it was responsible for her annoyance.

“Vera, dear-”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” Vera cut off her mother, even though all it made her mother do was tighten her grip in her hair and sigh with irritation.

“The hardest things we have to talk about are always things we want to ignore. I’ll tell you this, it’s never gonna get better by you ignoring it. It gets worse and worse and worse and the next thing you know, it’s over and done with and you’ll regret not talking about it. So be quiet and listen to me. One day I might have to leave you, and it might be something nice with old age, or it might not be something nice like that.” Mosi said it all in a rush, only taking breaths of air when she needed to. “You need to know what to do when that happens.”

“It’s not ever going to happen.” Vera said with conviction, shaking her head out of her mother’s grip, despite how only half of her hair was braided. “We don’t have to talk about it because it’s never going to happen.”

“Denial will get you nowhere.” Mosi didn’t follow after her daughter, letting the young woman pout just in the other room. “One day, I’ll be gone, and you’ll have to be brave on your own. You must always be brave, child.”

Amber eyes slowly opened to see the rotting floor of the deck above her, the same eyes that had stared into the fire with her mother and avoided conversations. Vera hated being brave, she was sick of being brave.

Her arms were sore, cramping from being in one place for so long, and her back felt no better. The ship smelled of rot and human decay, leaving Vera wondering who had died this time. She hadn’t bothered to learn anyone’s name, but she hoped that whoever they were when they died, that they had someone who would miss them. At the very least, she made a promise to never forget them.

She rolled on her side, as well as she could with being chained, staring at the woman next to her. Very didn’t notice anything off at first, she just saw a woman who had comforted her when she cried, and who had been so afraid to go on the water in the first place. Then Vera finally noticed the way her chest didn’t move up and down, how her hands no longer twitched and fidgeted with anxiousness.

She fought back bile, almost crying as she rolled back to face the ceiling. They could have been sailing for an hour, or weeks, or months, and she wouldn’t have been able to tell the difference. Sometimes the guards came up and took someone with them, sometimes the ship rocked as though something collided with it. Vera only knew that she never wanted to get on a ship again after this.

There was a man lying next to her, and if he wasn’t dead already he was nearly dead. The only movement he made was the small movement of his chest as he breathed, not even bothering to swat the flies away from his face. Occasionally, Vera would reach over and brush the flies away when they got too close to his eyes. She busied herself with watching the movements of his chest, wondering if he would leave her like the woman next to her, or if he would live.

“We’ve reached land. You lot ready for your new life?” Another guard, this one by the name of Thebis, came down. He had a hulking frame that made him hunch over when he walked, but the other guards just made fun of him for being fat. He was always the one who took them away, finishing their lives off without a protest from Naevius.

One by one, they were filed out of the bottom of the ship, seeing daylight for the first time. Vera couldn’t tell if she liked being in the dark or in the hot desert sun more, as each seemed just as bad as before. The dead people were left on the ship, including the man that Vera had been next to, who was slowly struggling more and more to breathe. Every time he inhaled, it was with a rattling sound that got dryer and dryer, she hoped he wouldn’t suffer for long.

The sand was gold, and as her own amber eyes looked down at it, she felt a sense of panic that they had never left the desert, this was all just some fevered dream conjured in the night. Yet just past the sandy beaches there was a village, and grassy hills. She had no idea where they were going, but she knew they wouldn’t stay long there. There would be no profit in a place where farmers did the work for themselves and didn’t need slaves.

Only half of them were left, and even then more seemed quick to die. The ship was left on the shore, waves lapping at the slave’s ankles and the guards horses already excitedly running around in freedom, yet still staying close to their masters. Vera idly compared herself to the horse, thinking to herself that while she would be tethered, she would never return to the one who kept her captured and tortured, and claimed it was for her own good.

“I almost envy them.” Vera whispered, her voice not even carrying an inch from her lips. If anyone else heard her, they didn’t react, simply staring straight ahead as she did, but none of them watching the horses as closely as she was.

“To Rome, slaves. Still make a profit with only a third of you.” Naevius laughed, mounting his horse. As soon as he was on it’s back, it started galloping around them quickly, as though trying to herd them into going where they needed to go.

In a long line, their chains were attached to one another, each slave facing the next slave’s back, but this time Vera was placed on the lead. Her wrists were held at eye level as she was bound to Naevius’ horse, only a small bit of room on the chains to let her have room. He would let his horse walk normally, but sometimes he would propel his horse forward, laughing as her bare feet stumbled over dirt and cuts on her feet grew worse.

The grass was softer on her feet though than the hot sand, even if there were more twigs and bugs than she ever cared to see. There would sometimes be a break in the chain as someone fell and refused to get up, but unlike before, the hot sun didn’t burn their skin, and they didn’t fall as easily. People put through suffering rarely fell so easily.

The walk was long, and it was hard, but Vera honestly felt it was worth it when they walked over a small ridge, just high enough to block their view of the city until they reached the top, and then the city was before her in all its glory. Even though she was being dragged there in chains, it was the sight of a city in the height of prosperity that made Vera’s breath catch in her throat and her feet still. Yet Naevius pushed his horse forward, and whatever spell the glorious city had put over her was broken in that moment. Her hair fell into her eyes. Black curls bouncing for a moment before they blocked the city out.

“Most slaves are more appreciative to go to Rome than to Egypt, aren’t you?”

She glanced up at Thebis, wondering how he managed to actually gain weight while they were traveling. Vera only vaguely recalled getting a couple bites to eat at one point, enough to where she wouldn’t pass out.

She didn’t say anything to him, she didn’t have to. Other’s behind her instantly thanked him, satisfying the fat man enough to move on from bothering her. The soft dirt of earth quickly changed into the packed dirt of roads, with no one sparing them a glance. How common was this in Rome, where no one else even stared at them as they walked past.

“About time I got you lazy brats off my hands.” Thebis said, luckily not seeing how Vera’s gaze hardened on the dirt.

They finally stopped, a couple of them almost falling in relief when they were pushed against the wall. If so many of them hadn’t been killed when they stopped for even a moment, then they all would have fallen.

“If I die, remember my name.”

Vera glanced back at her, eyes landing on the man standing behind her. His wrists were bleeding, dried blood decorating them in a way that created a beautiful, cracking pattern. His eyes were tired, sunken back into his skull as he unashamedly leaned back against the wall. The way his chest slowly moved up and down, it reminded her of the man they had left behind on the ship, the one who was probably dead by now.

Finally looking back up at him, she gave a small nod and received a small, relieved smile in return. His mouth opened just as Vera’s did, but unlike her the man didn’t close his mouth and wonder who should speak first.

“Emmanuel.”

Again she nodded, about to say her own name but he didn’t seem to care at all. She leaned against the wall with him, glancing down to see the blood decorating her own wrists, cuts that would turn into scars, that would soon hold memories of what she went through on the journey to Rome itself.

Hold exchanged hands in a quick movement to dissuade pickpockets. Vera’s amber eyes were following it though, seeing how easily men paid for slaves that were in front of them but wouldn’t pay for the water to keep them alive. Emmanuel only stood next to her, eyes closed and not bothering to see what was right in front of him.

“What do you think will happen to us?” She whispered as some of them were taken away by others. It was as though they were at auction, without a stage to present them to the public though.

“Who cares, we can’t do anything about it.” Bitterness made Emmanuel’s voice sharp without meaning to, though he never once opened his eyes. “What’s your name?”

“Vera.” She fell silent as one person walked by, completely ignoring how Naevius was still negotiating and getting gold for them. Anger bubbled in her heart the more she watched them argue and haggle, as though they were nothing more than baubles for entertainment.

“Look at me.” Vera whispered, staring up at Emmanuel, struck by how much taller he was than her. She had never considered herself small until she left her home and saw people who were so different from themselves.

He did, his own brown eyes staring down at her in a way that she couldn’t describe, no more interest or feeling left in them. His eyes were simply blank, barely holding any emotion or light in them. If his eyes were windows into his soul, she wasn’t sure if he had a soul at all.

“Remember me too, if I die.”

They fell into silence once more, with both of them staring blankly ahead at the sights and sounds of a city they had never seen before. Sometimes they would glance at each other, barely a moment apart from actually meeting each other’s gazes, yet neither minded. Vera couldn’t speak without the risk of being caught, so she only took the chance to look at him and remember what she could of his presence.

He was malnourished like the rest of them, with bones sticking out well enough so that she could count every rib. It seemed as though he had trouble breathing, with the way his chest seemed to hitch every time that he took a deep breath.

“Girl,” Naevius spoke to her, and Vera ignored him for a moment when she thought that he was talking to someone else, but when she didn’t answer, he stalked forward and grabbed her arm. “Got a good price for you, now behave for the nice man and don’t cause him trouble.”

He threw her forward, making her land hard on her knees with a gasp. She landed face first in the dirt before the man, Naevius already moving back towards the other slaves and pulling a couple of them from the line to come forward.

“Get up,” the man before her said, not extending a hand for her to take. Vera spat out dirt from her mouth, a small cut on her cheek just barely leaking out a couple droplets of blood.

His sandals were the first thing she noticed, the leather straps crossing over his feet and coming up his calves. She spat more dirt on his feet, tongue darting out to lick the blood trailing from her cheek and to the corner of her lips. Her eyes barely traveled up to see the same skirt her former guards had worn, and his tunic was the same as the guards except he didn’t have the same breastplate they wore. He looked rather plain compared to the guards who brought her there, with sharp features and cheekbones that looked thin enough to cut glass. He had a scruff of beard that looked like he had recently tried to trim it, but he had missed some areas and cut too close to the skin in others.

Slowly she rose, the man taking her chains in his hands and even going as far as to bend down and put a couple around her ankles to prevent her from running. She wouldn’t have gotten very far with how tightly he was holding to her chains. The ones on her ankles clinked together as her steps were short and choppy now. She had been able to walk easily by herself, but now she had to take two short steps for every normal one she normally would have.

Glancing back, Emmanuel raised a hand in parting, bowing his head in respect. She bowed her head back, unable to raise her hand in parting. Her heart was heavy as the new man led her around the corner, but now she was at least relieved that if she never told anyone else her name, someone would remember.

“Where are we going?” She asked the man who was all angles and sharpened edges, with everything on him more pronounced than ever before. He looked as though he was prepared for battle, with sharp elbows and knees about to deliver damage.

“Nowhere you should concern yourself with.” His voice was as sharp as his body, each syllable coming out just as hard as the ground underneath their feet.

Once more, a simple phrase made her feel like she should fall into silence, it made a frown appear on her face and think about the time that a man had once tried to make her tell her to learn her place, but all it did was make grab him and slam him into the nearest wall while his wife cut him off. She was lucky that her village in everything that the women did, herself included even at a young age.

“Sir-”

“Do not speak again.”

Her jaw snapped closed, mind thinking of punishments and whips and chains, the things she had never known growing up but now knew with more familiarity than no person should know. Vera bit the inside of her cheek feeling the sting of her teeth and the cut on her cheek act up even more because of it.

“What should I call you?” She asked, and his hands twitched for just a moment, tightening on her chains. She forced herself not to flinch, though her gaze did lower so she was staring down at the ground at not him.

“Josias, but I prefer the title you said earlier.” Josias glanced back, and his smirk was almost as sharp as his teeth, bringing up memories of men who tried to hurt her. She had seen worse, but she knew that look, she had seen it before.

Black curls fell into her eyes once more as she walked, not paying attention to anything but her feet on the ground. One step, then another, she only looked up when Josias pulled on her chains a bit harder, or said something to someone else. She only focused on the steps she had to take though, blocking out all other thoughts before they could come. She just wanted to sleep and have rest, but if there was one lesson that had been drilled into her time and time again, it was that slaves deserved no rest.

“That slave you were next to, is he a hard worker? We need a slave for the stables.” Josias asked, tugging her once more just for the hell of it. Vera stumbled for a moment, but then regained her balance.

“Yes, he works very hard.” There was no hesitation in her voice. Why would she condemn her friend when he had done nothing wrong to her, when that could mean giving her friend a stable life wherever she was going to.

They fell into silence, just the steps of their feet and the bay of horses and mules to break the silence. She looked at everything she could without people noticing the rising gaze of a slave, and put every detail away for later. She had no idea what she would do with the details she was taking in, but she wanted to learn everything she could.

Silence didn’t last long before they arrived, to a building with wide arches that stared down at her as her head tilted back to look up at them. She gasped in awe, looking at the ceiling as though it was going to collapse down on her. The man continued to lead her, into the grand building that was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Vera almost ran into the stone wall as she walked forward, letting the man guide her to where she needed to go.

“You will speak only when spoken to, you will do your job and be given a space to sleep in and food to eat. Disobedience will be punished, and we do not do well with transgressions here. The lord and lady of the palace will not have anything to do with you, if you see them you are to bow to them and obey any orders they give you.” He spoke as though he had given the orders a thousand times before, it even glancing back at her as he continued to walk.

High stone walls, each with torches to light the way. They weren’t lit now, but at night she looked forward to seeing their soft glow light the path. Vera didn’t lower her gaze, not even when people walked past her. They looked like other slaves themselves, each one given their own task to complete.

“Do you understand?” Josias breathed the words out, not paying attention to her anymore. She nodded, and even though he didn’t see it, he took her silence as an answer enough.

“The lord and lady of the house, who are they?” She asked softly, staring into every open doorway they passed.

Her chains dragged on the ground behind her, creating a small sound. In some doors she saw chores being done, one she saw a kitchen where a great fire was making dinner, and in another one, she saw an elegant room that looked the part of a queen. A couple women were in there, gossiping while their handmaidens waited on them. She met their gazes as they passed, getting respectful nods from the handmaidens but glares from the women.

“They’re the queen and king, put emperor and empress.” His voice changed when he said that, going from apathetic to revered. She immediately perked up in interest, trying to think of what it would be like with the queen and king.

“Do you serve them as well, sir?” She fought down the small smile on her lips, staring down at her feet obediently as he whipped around.

“What did you just say?” Josias snapped, hard enough to make anyone flinch away in fear. Vera only looked down at her feet, not moving.

“I didn’t mean anything by it, sir, it’s just at the last place I stayed at it was so prestigious that our masters would send other slaves out to buy more,” She lied through her teeth, but her voice came out as rich as velvet.

The reaction was immediate, and just what she wanted. Vera’s eyes glanced up to see the once sharp lines of his smirk turning down into an even sharper frown. He stared down at her, fists slowly clenching and unclenching as he fought with himself over what to do.

“That’s not how our king does things here.” His words were once more sharp as his angles, glaring down at her. It took him a moment before he actually moved, hand snaking out and smacking her hard across the cheek.

Vera gasped, hands going up to cradle her cheek that now had a bright red handprint on it. Her hand on her cheek masked her small smile at the rise, and silence was upon them as she pretended to whimper in pain. He seemed satisfied with her reaction, letting his hand fall back against his side.

“You should keep your opinions to yourself, slave.” He muttered, turning around to walk away. Vera let her hands drop a moment after he had turned away, eyes on the ground and her small smile still there.

This time he was rougher than before as he led her through the stone walls. The deeper they got into the palace, the darker it became, until the halls were finally lit by the torches even though it was still light outside. Vera resisted the urge to hum to herself to fill the silence, because while reactions from Josias were nice, they would more than likely lead to more slaps that she wasn’t in the mood for. Her cheek would show the evidence of abuse for weeks.

Then, just as suddenly as the torches had come, they were gone as well. She was encased in darkness before there was a large creaking sound, the sound of stone scraping across stone and light appeared once more. Before them as the light slowly spread across the stone, trailing up their bodies and bathing them in light. Vera blinked, trying to clear her vision so she could see clearly. Josias didn’t move after that, his hands releasing her chains and letting her stand on her own before he turned and walked away, never speaking again.

A dull roar came from the hallway, encased in light so bright that she couldn’t see past a couple feet in front of herself. The ground beneath her feet was covered in dirt, small bits of sand that clung to the bottom of her feet. She hesitantly inched forward, clearly able to see the places her feet made dents in the dirt she was walking on, but she still couldn’t see anything in front of her.

The noise became clearer as she walked, inching forward and expecting something to come out of the light and attack her before she could make it to the end. The longer she went without an attack, the more confident her steps became, less defensive and more balanced. The noise grew with every step she took, until she finally saw what awaited her at the end.

It was a magnificent, glorious room. The scent of blood hung heavy in the air, with a roar of people cheering as loudly as she could. Vera paused, only to feel a heavy push from behind her as she was pushed on the ground. She felt the sharp jab of spears against her back, guards keeping her in place as they brought down the metal gate to prevent her from leaving. As soon as the gate closed with a harsh  _clang!_ that echoed through her heart, the guards pulled away as though she would harm them, taking posts on either side of the closed gate.

The only thing louder than the thunderous bellow of the crowd was her own heartbeat racing through her ears. She picked herself up, glancing up at the people all cheering down at her. Some of them were clapping, some screaming, some of them were cheering so hard that they leaned over the edges of their seats, spit flying from their lips and faces redder than the dye staining their shirts.

Almost directly above her, dressed in finery and silk, were people unlike she had ever seen before. Vera couldn’t help but stare, almost fascinated with pale skin and regality, white threads coming together cleaner than she had ever been exposed to, and the queen completely demanding her attention. She sat down with her back straight, a golden pole in her hand and acting as a staff. She stared down at Vera, thin lips pressed together in a tight line.

Vera felt like she could have stared forever, at the queen who only stared down at her. She would have stared for a long time as well if it hadn’t been for the flash of movement that caught her gaze as well. Vera looked away from the queen, looking down at the only other living thing in the area beside herself.

The golden lion had blood dripping from its muzzle, teeth yellow and rotting looking. It stared at her as she rose on her knees, eyes almost as black as the night as it stared at her. Vera moved slowly, trying to make sure that it didn’t take a step forward.

It moved as she did though, sharpened claws dragging across the ground as it took a couple steps forward. The lion’s shoulders were hunched, face low to the ground as it growled. As the crowd had been so loud before, it was silent now, not making a peep. Hesitantly she stood, chained hands before herself. Taking her eyes off the lion for a moment only to glance at everyone, it became apparent that no one would help her now.

“Fight!” Someone shouted, from the crowd, and Vera balked at the idea of actually having to fight while she was in chains, and to fight the poor creature that seemed as though it hadn’t eaten in weeks.

The lion’s mane was tangled and knotted in places, some places completely bare to leave bald patches. Every single rib was defined, healed over scars on his body. There was a distinct stumble in his step as he stalked forward, but it seemed as healed as it could be and he didn’t let the stumble impede his stalking ability.

Vera took a careful step to the side, trying to see if the lion was really following her or the guards behind her. She glanced back at them, but they were behind the metal gate, safely watching her with eager eyes. The lion was still there, taking a step to the side with her so that he could follow her.

This wasn’t a fight, this was a bloodbath waiting to happen. Her own skirt swished around her knees as she took another step, glancing behind the lion to the pile of bodies that were behind him. It was probably the only way the poor thing got to eat.

It growled, a rumbling sound that turned into a roar quickly enough. Vera resisted the urge to duck down as it screamed at her, and tried to not think about how people sent her here to die. She breathed deeply, in through her nose and out through her mouth. The lion took a long step forward, never once taking his eyes off of her.

“Fight!”

There was another scream from the crowd, loud enough to make the lion twitch slightly and glare down at her even more than before. She held her chains in her hands, glancing down at her feet where the chains still rested. She had been sent here as a meal, and Vera was going to make sure she lived long enough.

“Fight!”

“Fight!”

It was a chant, the roar of the crowd starting once more as people were eager to watch her blood spill the ground. She had heard they did this to slaves in Rome, but she hadn’t expected it to be so soon, where she wouldn’t even be given a chance to prove she had more of a purpose than being lion food.

“Fight!”

“Fight!”

_“Fight!”_

The queen stared down at her with narrowed eyes, an expression that almost looked bored. Vera could hardly get a glimpse before she was staring back down at the lion, swallowing down her fears, the only thing working for her was her rational mind. She couldn’t afford to let her fear get the best of her.

The lion growled, blood from its last victim falling onto the sand below it. Vera stared down at the sand, almost able to see where they had laid the fresh sand because it had been soaked with blood. Its teeth were yellow and still dripping with blood, and with a feral look in it’s dark, black eyes, it finally lunged.

Vera dropped to the ground as soon as it started to fly through the air, letting the lion attack the air where she had been just moments before. The chains were too short for her to even think about running, as soon as the lion hit the ground, it squirmed on the dirt and tried to get away. Vera’s hands scraped against the ground as she tried to rise, the lion whipping around to stare at her.

It let out a furious bellow, the roar of it’s voice completely silencing the crowd all staring down at them. Vera’s feet propelled her back, scraping across the sand as she tried to gain space between herself and the roaring lion. It pawed the ground, shoulders hunching low and shaking its body to regain its balance. Vera finally gained her feet out from under her, scrambling for a moment as she crawled for half a moment.

The crowd was still silent, and it gave her just enough time to hear the paws of the lion stomp on the ground as it took another step towards her. Rolling on her back gave her just enough movement for the lion to descend, and Vera’s hands shot out to protect her, jamming the chains binding her wrists inside the mouth of the lion.

The crowd erupted into cheers once more, only able to see the slaves squirming feet underneath the lion as it did its best to get his new meal. Vera let out a scream of fright, spit of the lion coming out of his mouth and dribbling down her face, and only her arms locked in place with the chain in the lion’s mouth preventing it from descending and killing her.

It pawed at the ground, sharpened claws going through the sand and hitting her shoulder and spilling her blood to join the blood of so many others who had once fought for their own lives. Vera screamed out in pain, hearing the crowd join with her, but their cries for her blood and for her death.

Unable to get closer though, even with his own crushing weight against Vera, he pulled back, spitting out the chain and leaving her covered in blood and the lion's spit. The lion pawed at his face, giving Vera a brief moment to catch her breath, holding her shoulder to try to stop the blood from seeping out.

Then, it roared, a furious sound of pain and anger all directed at her. Vera pushed herself up, moving to stare at the lion at it glared at her once more, blood dripping from its maw and a couple broken teeth decorating the sand below.

It pounced once more, staring down at her as she rolled on her side and barely missed the sharpened claws once more coming down at her. She couldn’t help but scream, pure frustration and fear and everything else too scared to move. This time, when the lion jumped, she moved with it, the lion stumbling over its own paws and rolling on top of her.

Clutching as tightly as she could, She held as tightly as she could to the lion's mane. It crushed her as it rolled, a brief moment of skin grinding against the sand and the lion’s weight itself throwing the air out of her lungs and making her gasp for air as they rolled the right way. As the lion rolled though, she wasn’t crushed underneath it anymore, but clutching to the mane of the lion as she rested on it’s back like a horse about to go into battle.

The crowd screamed, and Vera gasped as she couldn’t tell if it was a scream of excitement that she lived, or if it was disappointment. She grunted, throwing her arms forward and the small give of the chain moving with her to wrap around the lion’s neck, and pulling it taught.

The lion bucked, trying to get her off of him but unable to dislodge her with how her legs wrapped securely around the lion’s chest. It raced around the arena, roaring as loudly as it could to either get her off or get the attention of someone else to get Vera off.

Yet it couldn’t last forever, and soon galloping became walking, and that became stumbling with how tightly Vera had her chains wrapped around the lion’s neck. She pulled her arms taught, not letting an inch of room between her chains and the lion’s neck. It was brutal, it was harsh, she could feel each breath the lion took underneath her skin as it finally stumbled to a halt.

It took so much longer than she thought it would, sitting on the lions back and forcing it to choke on every breath of air it took. She buried her face in the lion’s mane, fighting back tears and emotions and trying to get her racing heart to calm down.

It took its last couple of stumbling steps, falling to its side and then collapsing with Vera still on top of him. She still waited, hearing hushed noises from the crowd as she pulled herself off of the lion, clutching her bleeding shoulder to try to erase the pain.

“Victory!”

The crowd erupted in cheers, all of them celebrating her victory over the lion that seemed it had been as trapped as she was. Her chains were matted with dirt and grime and completely ruined, and her outfit that had once been acceptable was now completely in rags hanging off her frame.

Above her, still sitting as silently as they had before when she first arrived, was the king and queen. Vera saw the king, slowly clapping and staring down his nose at her, and the queen, who didn’t move at all. She didn’t clap for Vera, she didn’t even move. Her pursed lips had spread into a small smile, and as Vera stared up at her, the queen offered a small nod of her head, complete with admiration in her eyes.

That was the last thing she saw before Vera collapsed, falling onto the dirt with only a small gasp of pain.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this, please, please, please leave a comment below! I would love to know what everyone thinks!


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